Keyword Finder

The first item in the toolbox is a Search Term Suggestion Tool. It helps you to choose search phrases that are actually being used. One of your favourites for non-specialists is Overture, a great free tool that deserves the exposure we’re giving it here. So the URL where you can find specific keywords is:

http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Once you have the keyword or phrase you want, go to Google, Yahoo or MSN and search for the term. Somewhere on the page usually at the top there will be a piece of text that says “results out of…”. This does not signify how many companies are competing with you, what it does signify is how many pages the search engine understands to have some relevancy to the search term. As a general rule the higher the number the more difficult top placing will be.

Having familiarised yourself with the two tools above, it’s critical that you now use them to identify the keywords that are going to generate the best traffic, not necessary the most traffic.

Using a spread sheet program like Excel, tabulate your findings number of searches against the number of competitive pages. This should be enough information for you to be able to make a decision on which keywords are likely to be successful, along with the chances of gaining a good position compared with the competition.

There will be search terms that have a reasonable number of searches each month but some will have a much lower competition, making them a far easier option for early success in search engine positioning.

Judgin your keywords correctly is a major hurdle. Time spent getting them right will do more for your ultimate success than just about any other element of the optimisation process.

January 11, 2008 | Filed Under SEO